Draw-bar lifter and holder



A. GRIGSBY.

DRAW BAR LIFTER AND HOLDER.

APPLICATIQN FILED AUG-1311919.

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DRAW BAR LIFTER AND HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED AUG-13,1919.

1 ,3%8,49 l Patented Aug. 3, 1920.,

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Woman series stares PATENT Er ca ABLE GRIGSBY, or OLNEY, ILLINor-s, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF T0 JOHN LYNCH, or

oLNEY, ILLINOIS.

, DRAW-BAR LIFTER AND HOLDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARLE Gnrosni, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Olney, in the county of Richland and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Draw-Bar Lifter and Holder, of which the following is, a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved device for lifting and'holding the drawbar of a railway car without liability of accident to the employees, and to provide a device adapted to enable a single. man to perform the work instead of requiring the united effort of three men as heretofore. I attain the object of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device with member 2 removed; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevation of the Windlass mechanism.

Like numerals designate throughout the several views.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I provide a frame 1, as shownin Fig. 2 detachably connected to a frame 2. Mounted on frame 1 I provide suitable braces 3, and bolted to members 1 and 3 are metal straps 6, projecting beyond these members and adapted to be detachably bolted to frame 2 by suitable fastening means 7. Bolts 8 extend through members 6,?) and 1 as shown in Fig. 1. I provide a suitable hook or hooks 9 pivotally attached to frame 1 and adapted to releasably engage suitable fastening means 10 on frame 2, such as illustrated in Fig. 1. Frame 2'is supported by uprights 11 which are suitably fastened to frame 2 by suitable braces 12.

Referring to Fig. 1 I provide a shaft 4, mounted between members 1 and 3 and carrying a handwheel 20. Also mounted on shaft 4 is a pinion 13 meshing with gear 14 which is mounted on a second shaft 5, supported between members 1 and 3 as shown.

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Attached to shaft 5 is a chain 21 carrying a suitable hook 22, for engaging and lifting the drawbar. I provide a suitable latch or pawl 15, pivoted to bracket 16 and adapted to engage and lock gear 14 against rotation, the latch 15 being normally held in engagement with gear 14 by a suitable spring 17 parts Specification of Letters Patent. Pat nt d A g, 3, 1 & Application filed August 13, 1919. Serial No. 317,257.

I also provide a locking member 18, pivotally mounted on member 3 and adapted to disconnect latch 15 from gear 14 when desired. V a

To remove a drawbar from the railway car the frame 2 may be detached from frame 1 and the hoisting apparatus can then be placed against the end of the railway car, as shown in Fig. 3; the chain 21 may be secured around the drawbar and handwheel' 20 turned in the desired direction to operate the winch, consisting of shaft 4, pinion 13, gear 14 and shaft 5, to raise or lower the drawbar as desired. The latch 15 prevents the chain from unwinding from shaft 5 on which gear 14 controlled by latch 15 is mounted.

By unhooking hook 9, and releasing members 7 from strap 6, the frame 2 may be detached from the front frame 1. When the drawbar is on the ground or within reach I rights 11 raising the frame sufliciently to cause it to clear the rails which it straddles. With the drawbar suspended from the hoisting apparatus a flat railway car may be run under the apparatus and the drawbar lowered onto the car, or picked up from the car and swung into place as may be wanted. All danger to the operator or employee of being caught between cars and pinched or caught by the drawbar as might occur through its being dropped or released accidentally by a helper when the former methods of handling same were employed is obviated by this device.

My invention virtually puts the handling of a drawbar in complete control of one man, without the risk attached to putting a drawbar in place by the ordinary methods. It will be observed that I do not use merely a plain windlass but employ a winch adapted for handling the heavy drawbar of railway cars, and having a handwheel for operating the winch, so mounted as to be readily operated by one man, the spring controlled latch engaging gear 14 serving to hold the device in a given position at which the drawbar may be suspended. The detachable construction permits of use of the device in either a position straddling the rail and which permits a truck to be run between the frames of the hoisting apparatus, and in a position resting against and sup- In a drawbar lifter and holder, the combination of a plurality of supporting frames disposed at an inclination to each other means for rigidly but detachahly securing said frames one to the other at their upper 10 ends said means including metal straps projeoting beyond one of the "frames, 21 Winch mounted on the upper end of one of the frames, means for manually operating said Winch, and uprights to which the lower end of one of the supporting frames is secured, whereby to raise the apparatus sufficiently to -permit a truck to be run under the frame Without the supporting frames projecting much beyond the rails of the railroad track;

- 4 ABLE GRIGSBY. 

